2013 AUDI A4 ESP

162 Airbag system
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and con help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who ore properly restrained.
Fig. 158 Inflated s ide airbags on left side of vehicle
When the system is triggered, the airbag is
filled with propellant gas and breaks through
a seam in the seat surface area marked "AIR­
BAG". It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger . In order to help provide
this additional protection, the side airbag
must inflate within a fraction of a second at
very high speed and with great force. The sup­ plemental side airbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the sup­
plemental side airbag expands. This applies
especially to children
Q page 166, Child Safe­
ty.
Supplemental side airbags inflate between
the occupant and the door panel on the side
of the vehicle that is struck in certain side col­
lision
Q fig . 158.
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper
part of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag de­
ploys. This is normal and does not mean there
is a fire in the vehicle. Important safety instructions on the
side airbag system
Airbags ore only
supplemental restraints. Al­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and act accordingly to help the
safety belts and airbags do their job to pro­
vide supplemental protection.
A WARNING
An inflating side airbag can cause serious
or fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety
belts and improper seating positions in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death whenever a vehicle is being
used.
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always sit in an upright position and
never lean against the area where the
supplemental side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone else rest
their head against the side trim panel
in the area where the supplemental
side airbag inflates.
-Always make sure that safety belts are worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front
seat put their hand or any other parts
of their body out of the window.
-Always make sure that the side airbag can inflate without interference.
- Never install seat covers or replace­ ment upholstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
deploy.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.

vehicle that is struck in a side collision
~ fig . 160.
When the system is tr iggered , the side c urtain
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In or­
der to help provide this additional protection,
the side curtain airbag must inflate within the
blink of an eye at very high speed and w ith
great force. The side curtain airbag cou ld in ­
jure you if your seat ing pos ition is not proper
or upright o r if items are located in the area
where the suppleme nta l side cu rtain airbag
in flates . This appl ies espec ia lly to childre n
~page 166.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side cur­
tain airbags can "cushion" the impact and in
this way they ca n he lp to reduce the r isk of in­
jury to the head and the upper part of the
body .
A fi ne dust may develop when the airbag de­
p loys. Th is is quite normal and does not mea n
there is a fire in the vehicle .
Important safety instructions on the
side curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Al­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and do to help the safety be lts and
airbags do the ir job to provide supplementa l
protection.
A WARNING
Improperly wear ing safety belts and im­
proper seating positions increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death when­
ever a veh icle is being used .
- Never let occupants p lace any parts of
their bodies in the a rea from wh ich the
side cu rtain airbags inflate.
- Always make sure that the side curta in
airbags can inflate w ithout interference.
Uns uitable accessories fitted inside the
A irbag system 165
expansion range of a head airbag can
dangerously interfere with its funct ion. A
deploying head airbag develops enough
force to catapult any p iece of add-on
component out of its path of inflation
and into the passenger compa rtment. An
o cc u pant hit by such a projectile can suf­
fer serious injury or death~
page 283,
Technical Modifications.
- Do not swive l the sun visors to the side i f
you have any ob jects clipped onto them
(for examp le pens) . If the airbag should
deploy, you could be injured by these ob­
jects .
- Use the bui lt - in coat hooks only for ligh t­
weight clothing . Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere with airbag dep loyment
and can cause personal injury in an acci­
dent.
- Never use hangers to hang clothing from
the hooks.
- On ly use factory-installed sun shades or,
in the case of shades installed after the
veh icle leaves the factory, only Audi roll­
up sunscreens may be used
~ page 282,
Additional accessories and parts re­
placement.
- Always sit in proper seat ing pos ition and
wear safety belts wh ile traveling so that
the side cu rtain airbag s can he lp p rov ide
protec tion.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once . If the airbag has been triggered,
the system mus t be rep lace d by an au ­
thorized A udi dealer or qualified work ­
shop .
- Always have wor k involving the side cu r­
tain airbag system, removal and installa ­
tion of the airbag components, or ot her
repairs per formed by an authorized Audi
dea ler or qualified works hop. Otherwise
the airbag system may not work co rrect­
ly.
- Never attempt to mod ify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way.
•
•

166 Child Saf ety
Child Safety
Important things to
know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your veh icle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
q page 138, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults their
muscles and bones are not fully developed. In
many respects children are at greater risk of
serious injury in crashes than adults.
Because children's bodies are not fully deve l­
oped, they require restra int systems especial­
l y designed for their size , weight, and body
structure. Many countries and all states of the United States and p rovinces of Canada have
laws requiring the use of approved child re­
straint systems for infants and small children .
In a frontal crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child . This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than
260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
only an appropriate ch ild restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of serious injury.
Ch ild restra ints must be used properly to be
effective. Used improperly, they can increase
the risk of serious injury in an accident .
Consult the child safety seat manufactu rer's
instructions to be sure the seat is right for
your chi ld's size
q page 169, Important safe­
ty instructions for using child safety seats .
Please be sure to read and heed all of the im­
portant information and WARNINGS about
child safety, Advanced Airbags, and the instal­ lation of child restraints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they
work when infants and children in child re­
straints are on the front passenger seat . Be ­
cause of the large amount of important infor- mation, we cannot repeat it all here
. We urge
you to read the detailed information in this
owner's manua l about airbags and the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport­
ing children on the front passenger seat .
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
A WARNING
- Accident statistics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un­
der in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must be restrained properly when­
ever riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained
or improperly restrained chi ld could be
injured by str ik ing the interior or by be­
ing ejected from the vehicle dur ing a
sudden maneuver or impact. An unre­
strained or improperly restrained ch ild is
also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable child restraint properly instal­
led and used at one of the rear seating
positions provides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be seriously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag in­
flates . A child in a rearward-facing child
safety seat installed on the front passen­
ger seat w ill be ser iously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates.
- The inflating airbag will h it the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the back rest, center
armrest or door .
- Always install rearward-facing child safe-
ty seats on the rear seat.
IJi,,,

-If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rearward-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected immediately by your authorized Audi dealer.
,& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
@ Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured .
Child Safety 167
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates. In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size . The airbag on the pas ­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a child to ride . The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight-sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its "footprint" vary for different kinds of child re -
straints and for the different models of the ..,. •
•

-Model Manufactured on or
after
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo V i- September 25, 200 7
aggio SIP I MUN00US
Subpart C -Forward-facing and
con vertible child r estra ints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back September 25, 2007
Booster 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
254
Evenflo Generations September 25, 200 7
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
T o reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the child restraint off the fro nt pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one of the rea r seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer immediate­
ly.
Child Sa fet y 169
'
(D Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C
have been statically tested by A udi on ly for
the Advanced A irbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the dr iver, you are responsib le for the safe­
ty of everybody in the vehicle, especially ch il­
dren:
... Always use the right chi ld safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
¢page 172 .
... Always carefully fo llow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instruct ions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
safety seat.
... When usi ng the veh icle safety belt to ins tall
a child safety se at, you m ust first activate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 176.
... Push the ch ild safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forwa rd or
sideways mo re than one inch (2 .5 cm) .
... If a strap o r tethe r is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the fron t passenger
s eat , make sure tha t it is not so tight that it
causes the weight-sensing mat to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat.
... Sec ure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 171.
Always remember : Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all c h il dren, especially those 12 years and young­
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat proper -
ly restra ined for the ir age and size. .,_ •
•

1 70 Child Safety
&_ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death .
-All vehicle occupants and especially chil ­
dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle.
-
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child can be injured or killed by be­
ing thrown against the inside of the ve­
hicle or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact .
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion. The child restraint must not tip or lean to either side. Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube -like
frames . They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
-Always heed all legal requirements per­
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu­
facturer of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo­
men and neck areas during sudden brak­
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a
child safety seat . -
Never let babies or older children ride in
a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an­
other passenger .
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system.
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident. The child will strike the in­
terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also
injure each other in an accident.
- Never install rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­
ger airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety
seat and child against the backrest,
center arm rest, door or roof.
= Always install rearward-facing child
safety seats or infant carriers on the
rear seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat can in­
terfere with the airbag when it inflates and cause serious injury to the child. Al­
ways install forward-facing child safety seats on the rear seat .
- If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's
safety and well-being require that the
following special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufac­
turer's instructions provided with the
child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat
into the rearmost position of the pas-
senger seat's fore and aft adjustment
~

range, and as far away from the a irbag
as poss ible before instal ling the child
restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from be ing moved to the rearmost position
i n its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upr ight position.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a coll is ion .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c:::;,page 137, Safety
belts,
c:::;, page 145, Airbag system and
¢ page 166, Child Safety.
.8, WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure tha t the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child rest raint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it proper ly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer immediate­
ly.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 161 Schematic overview: kee p un used safety be lts
away from chil dren in child safe ty seats. @-oute r rear
safety be lt,
@ -center rear safety belt
.
Child S afety 1 71
If a child safety seat is used on the rea r bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower ancho­
rages, the unused safety belts
must be se ­
cured so that the child in the child restraint
cannot reach them
c:::;, &,.
- Guide the safety belt webbings @and @
beh ind the head restraint of the seat where
the child restra int is insta lled
c:::;, fig. 161.
When doing so, do not engage the switcha­
ble locking retractor! You shou ld not hear a
"cl icking" sound when w inding up the safety
be lt .
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
.8, WARNING
A child in a chi ld safety seat i nstalled with
the LA TCH lower ancho rages or with the
standard s afety be lt or a child in a boos ter
seat on the rea r seat co uld p lay with un­
use d rea r seat safety belts and become en­
tang led . This could cause t he chi ld ser ious
personal injury and even death.
- Always secure unused rear seat safety
be lts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by proper ly rout ing t hem
around the head restrai nt of the seat
where the ch ild restraint is installed.
- Never activate t he switchable l ock ing re­
tracto r when routing the safety be lts
arou nd the head restraints.
- Never let anyone s it at the center rear
seating position if the center rea r safety
be lt has been routed around a rear head
restraint.

~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 171 .
Children up to about 40 lbs. (18 kg) are bes t
protected in child safety seats designed for
their age and weight . Expe rts say that the
skeleta l structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they must not use the vehicle safety belts without
a suitable ch ild restra int.
It is usually best to put these children in ap­
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standards .
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
chi ld and reposition both the lap and shou lder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the child's body in the right places. The
routing of the be lt over the child's body is very
important for the ch ild's protection, whether
or not a booste r seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
C hi ldren who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's th ree po int lap and shoulder belts .
Never use the lap belt portion of the veh icle's
safety be lt a lone to restrain any child, regard­
l ess of how b ig the child is. Always remembe r
that children do not have the pronounced pe l­
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
l ap and shoulder be lts. The child's safety ab­
solutely requ ires that a lap be lt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
be lt portion of the safety belt pass over the
chi ld's stomach or abdomen.
In a cras h, airbags must i nflate within a blink
of an eye and with cons iderable force. In orde r
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect the occupant
as the occupant moves forward into the air­ bag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of pos ition and
too close to the airbag gets i n the way of an
inflat ing a irbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she w ill be str uck violen tly and
Child Sa fet y 175
will receive serious or possib ly even fatal in ­
jury .
In orde r fo r the airbag to offer pro te ction, i t is
important tha t all veh icle occupants, espec ial­
ly any children, who m ust be in the front seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances, be
properly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible. By keeping room between
the child's body and the front of the passen­
ger compartment, the a irbag can inflate com ­
pletely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions .
_&. WARNING
Not using a booste r seat, using the boos­
ter seat imp roperly, in correc tly installing a
boos ter sea t or using the vehicle sa fe ty
belt imp roperly increases the risk of seri­
ous persona l injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situat ion. To he lp re­
d uce the risk of serio us personal injury
and/or death:
- The shou lder belt must lie as close to the
center of the ch ild's collar bone as possi­
ble and must lie f lat and snug on the up­
per body. It must never lie across the
throat or neck. The lap belt must lie
across the pelvis and neve r across t he
s tomach o r abdomen. Make s ure the belt
lies fla t and snug. Pull on the belt to
tighten if necessary.
- Failure to p roperly ro ute safety belts
over a child's body will ca use seve re inj u­
ries in an accident or othe r emergency
situation
¢page 137 .
-The rear side o f the child sa fety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head re­ straint if it is diffic ult to install the ch ild
seat with the head restraint in p lace
¢ page 61. Install the head restraint
aga in immediately once the ch ild seat is
removed . D rivi ng without head restraints
or w ith head restra in ts tha t are not prop­
erly ad justed increases the risk of serious
.
or fatal neck inj ury drama tically . ~
•
•